"Where have you been, Anna?" — A Fresh Start

Oh, life. I know it has been unpredictable and full of surprises for many of us. Back in 2020, when the whole world shut down, I initially found myself with more free time and was using that time to explore my creativity and where I wanted to take my art. I was also still working for The DIME Store, which went into full panic mode when the doors were shut with a minimal online shop. Several other staff members and I kicked it into high gear to get all the products in the shop online. Through that process, my responsibilities at DIME naturally began to grow and deepen over time as I took on more and more responsibilities. I love DIME, and its survival was of utmost importance to me. 

For me, the store represented a safe haven. Under the care of the owners and staff, I grew into the artist that I am today, and the community of makers that I was welcomed into became fast friends. DIME also means a lot to the Denton community, so I knew it was a worthwhile cause and that any efforts we made to ride out that initial storm would be worth it.

Fast-forward to the Summer of 2020, and the owner decided she was ready to retire. We had had previous conversations about me taking over one day. Still, I certainly didn't assume that "one day" would be during a pandemic that had shut our doors and turned the business model on its head in a matter of days. It was a scary decision but also an immediate "yes." DIME means so much to me, and I knew it was the right decision, regardless of current circumstances.

For the last 3.5 years, I've been running my favorite little shop in Denton, reworking things, trying new things, and figuring out how to run a retail store. It's been a roller-coaster ride that has dramatically shifted my work focus. I didn't intend to let my art go, but it simply started to drift away, and I didn't stop it. 

So here I am—a shop owner who is barely an artist anymore. It's been a joy, but in these past 3+ years, I have missed making art. A lot. I know I made the right choice, and I'm doing something I love. But I also love creating art, and I have desired more and more recently to figure out how to do both. 

I wish it were a simple "get back at it, no time lost!" kind of thing, but things have changed a lot since I stopped making art regularly in 2020. I have realized that I deeply desire to return to my painting roots in a photo-realistic way. That's how I started out, after all. I studied Drawing and Painting at UNT and spent years refining my skills as a photo-realistic painter. I only switched from that style because the "Great Recession" started the Summer I graduated college. I was forced to switch gears, and by the time I could get back to my painting roots, I began having children, and it still didn't feel like the right time. While my kids were little, I worked on pieces conducive to my hectic season of life, which meant simpler, smaller works that I could make prints of. Still, now that they are getting bigger, that ache to paint and really spend time on a painting is growing and swelling. 

I have some fear about that idea because I made my name as an artist when I was working on simpler pieces. Most people who like my art discovered me while working on linocuts or simple paintings or drawings. It's easy for me to feel like, "What if they don't like this version of me." I also know that this is the actual me. This is the artist that I started out as and that I want to grow back into being. This is the artist who has been trained and honed her skills and has new ideas, perspectives, and wisdom to share. This is the artist who feels most alive when working on super-detailed pieces. So, this is the artist that I need to pursue. 

All that being said, even though I have clarity about the style of art that I want to make, I don't have clear direction or inspiration about the subject matter. But I also can't wait any longer. So, instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, I will get to painting. I will be working on more miniature, faster paintings than what is normal for me to give me space to experiment and explore. See what I enjoy and don't enjoy, without the pressure of making each piece super detailed. Once I have more clarity, I expect to go all in with the details. But for now, I'm experimenting. 

I hope you follow along as I learn about who I am as an artist all over again. Fresh slate. Starting over, you get a front-row seat to it. 

Thanks for being here!